


In His Place

by Meatball42



Series: Rare Pairs [45]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Battle Couple, Dissociation, F/M, Multi, Risk Aware Consensual Kink, Threesome, Unreliable Narrator, or more specifically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-17 02:36:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9300314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42/pseuds/Meatball42
Summary: Homecoming after a long mission.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [geckoholic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/geckoholic/gifts).



> Every time I write from Bucky's point of view, this happens. I hope it comes across as atmospheric and not sloppy. And thank you for your beautiful letter, geckoholic! It actually inspired a longer, deeper fic for this ship as well, that I am simply not competent to write, so it'll probably end up as smut snippets. The horror!

They were bloody and covered in dust and grime and exhausted, but they were almost home. Barnes walked point from the SUV to the elevator, ignored his partners’ conversation with the AI, then did a security sweep of the suite when they arrived. And then he did another sweep.

“Barnes.”

Barnes left off his third sweep to attend the kitchen. It was well lit, unlike the rest of the floor, and it had Cap and Hill in it. Cap was guzzling a container of orange juice, with the microwave already on. Hill was seated at the kitchen island, and was looking at Barnes. Her dark eyes were flat and steady. Barnes stood straighter under her gaze.

“Is the area secure?” she asked him.

“Yes ma’am.” Still, the urge to perform another check tugged at him. She was still watching him, though, so he stayed.

“FRIDAY agrees. Would you like to eat first, or shower?”

Calculations ground to a start in Barnes’s mind. He blinked as he slowly shifted gears from ‘protect’ to ‘recuperate’. He realized that the blood that had gotten inside his uniform was slimy and itchy, but also his stomach was clenching on itself after the exertion of their mission.

Hill waited patiently while he thought. Cap put down the orange juice and began shoveling hot noodles and chicken wings into his gullet, hands shaky. He needed even more calories than Barnes.

“Shower,” he decided.

Hill nodded. “After that, prepare yourself some food and come to the bedroom. Dismissed.”

Barnes turned on his heel.

Showers at Stark Tower could be as long and hot as anyone wanted. Barnes thought about it as he shampooed his hair, carefully massaging around areas where blood and grime had matted and tangled it. The room was filled with steam and the scent of primrose, and no one was watching him, not even the computer. His washcloth felt good on his skin after hours and hours in his combat suit.

When he was clean, Barnes went to turn off the water, but he hesitated. _‘Take care of yourself,’_ he recalled, in Hill’s sternest voice.

Barnes liked the hot water. He stayed in it for a few more minutes.

When he stepped out, there was a warm towel waiting on the wall and a soft, sturdy bathrobe in the linen closet. He utilized both, then picked up the leave-in conditioner Natasha had given him for Christmas. He’d been skeptical, but she’d promised him Steve and Maria would appreciate it. And they had.

Barnes held the bottle in his left hand for a minute or two. He reread the product description and the usage instructions. He reached up with his other hand to feel his hair. It felt like hair.

He put the conditioner away without using it.

When he emerged from the guest bathroom, Barnes immediately heard Cap’s heavy breathing coming from the hall. It was interspersed with quiet whines, and Barnes nearly stalked down the hall toward the sounds. A moment later, he identified the specific tone and quality of the noises, and returned to his mission.

 _‘Prepare yourself some food.’_ Barnes knew how to prepare food. His partners made it easy for him, for times when his focus was elsewhere. In the refrigerator, there were cartons leftover from dinner the night before. There were also a few stacked Tupperware containers with instructions carefully written on Post-its.

Barnes stalled out.

A few minutes later, as he continued to stare into the refrigerator, the computer spoke from the ceiling. “Sergeant Barnes?”

A flash of color in his vision: bright orange-red.

“Sergeant, can you hear me?”

“FRIDAY,” he said.

“Yes. Do you require assistance?”

Barnes thought hard. There were two choices before him, and either would fulfill his orders. But- he had no reason to make either choice.

“Which?” He had to force the word out, and his voice was rough enough to be nearly incomprehensible.

FRIDAY understood. “I recommend the rice dish on your left. What remains of the Chinese is mostly fried, and would provide fewer nutrients to assist recovery.”

Barnes’s breath immediately came easier. He reached for the Tupperware. “Thanks.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

The instructions told him to mix the beans and vegetables with the rice, then microwave it on a plate. Barnes did so. There was another step that involved eating a fruit. Barnes located a mango from the basket on the counter. Another step said to obtain further calories if he was still hungry after eating. Barnes set the note aside for the moment.

He ate at the island with a tall glass of milk and another of water. Cap’s noises from the hall were getting louder.

Barnes’s meal was a little bland. A few bites after noticing this, he remembered that there was a spice rack in the kitchen, and tossed some salt and a basic seasoning mix over the plate. It tasted better after that.

When he was finished, he was still hungry, so he took the last few wings Cap had left behind and stripped them quickly. Feeling full, he collected his dishes and those Hill and Cap had left behind and washed them, leaving them in the dish rack to drip-dry.

_‘...and come to the bedroom.’_

Cap was crying out now, and there was an audible _swish-thwap_ that made the hairs on Barnes’s neck stand up. He fiddled with the tie on the bathrobe for a moment before he proceeded down the hallway toward the master bedroom.

He sat on the cushioned bench by the standing wardrobe and leaned against the back. The seat had him facing Cap’s side where he held himself up on his hands and knees. He was pale, except for his flushed face and the stripes down his back. He shuddered, and Barnes noticed his cock was also bright red, hanging between his legs and dripping onto the sheet.

Hill must have pulled the thick duvet off the bed before they began, Barnes thought. That was good planning.

Hill was standing behind Cap, with the leather flogger in one hand and a remote in the other. Her expression was clear, almost bored, but she watched Cap with an eagle eye. Her arm raised and came down, leaving a new series of neat lines down Cap’s back.

The blow punched another cry out of Cap. He was naked, and the shaking was partially from cold, Barnes realized. He frowned faintly. Cap shouldn’t be cold. But Hill was the one who’d told him to strip, presumably, so it must be alright.

A buzzing started and Cap jerked his hips, moaning loudly. Hill stepped forward, running her hands over Cap’s body. “Don’t you dare come,” she said harshly. Barnes could see her digging her nails into Cap’s hips as they twisted. “You haven’t earned that yet, have you?”

“No-” Cap gasped. “Maria-”

“Tell me, Rogers,” Hill ordered. She reached down and did something to the plug vibrating inside of Cap, causing him to drop his head down between his arms and groan. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want whatever you want, Maria,” Cap said into his bicep. “Anything you say! Please!”

Hill brought her hand down on Cap’s ass and he choked. “And if I want you to wait? If I want to make you cry?”

“Yes, Maria!”

Barnes tuned their actions out for a while. He kept his eyes on Cap, watching for any signs of actual distress, but he ignored the rest. This was a normal part of Cap’s recuperation, and he wasn’t supposed to interfere unless the play strayed into dangerous territory.

That wasn’t an order from Hill, but a request from Cap. Or, from Steve. But that was as good as an order anyhow, most days.

Still, Cap’s pained noises were keeping him on edge tonight, and Hill liked Barnes to sleep after missions.

Barnes went over the mission in his head, preparing for the report Hill would have him compose in the morning. Hill and Cap were taking a while, so he went over some appendices as well, the optional ones that only Natasha really wrote in detail.

Then he went over it all again.

On the bed, Cap was lying on his back with his eyes closed, his face shiny with sweat and tears. Hill was cleaning his body with a wet cloth, wiping up cum and lube and murmuring sweetly. She pulled the bedspread up over him when she was done and gently washed his face.

Barnes came back to the present to listen to them speak. He was still a little floaty, like Stark’s holograms, up where he was writing reports, but he tried to listen in case his partners said anything important.

“Today was a good day,” Hill said quietly. “No casualties, the scientists got good data. You saved the civilians.”

Cap hummed in response. Hill tightened her hand on the back of his neck.

“I know you’re not sassing me, Rogers,” she warned. Barnes could see her sharp smile.

“Of course not,” Cap replied. He was smiling too, even if he looked dopier than Hill ever could. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Hill smoothed some hair off his face and Cap sighed. "Do you want anything from me?"

"No, you rest. You can make it up to me tomorrow."

Cap grinned, eyes closed. "Or maybe Bucky can..."

Hill kept stroking him soothingly, but her silence made Cap take notice. One eye cracked open. "He's not still in battle mode, is he?"

Hill looked over at Barnes. Her gaze sharpened. Barnes met it, waiting for an order.

“Not quite. But he isn't all back yet, either. That’s two hours out from fighting. We’ll have to report it to his psychiatrist.”

Cap tried to sit up and Hill immediately pushed him down with a hand on his chest. “Tomorrow," she said, "you’re done tonight.” There was enough iron in her voice that he slumped back to the bed. “He’s my responsibility now.”

Cap’s lips twisted, but he hummed his assent, and Hill put a hand over his closed lids and held it there until he relaxed further into the mattress. “Sleep. I’ve got everything under control.”

Once Cap’s breath had leveled out, Hill walked over to stand in front of Barnes. She looked down at him for a moment, then asked, “How do you feel, Bucky?”

Something stuttered in Barnes’s head. He couldn’t- it was too- who-

“Nevermind,” Hill said firmly, and Barnes nodded with relief. She watched him for another long moment, and he waited for an order.

“You’re usually back with us by now,” she said, quietly, not expecting a response.

But she sounded sad, and- it was his job to avoid that.

“I’ll- I- sorry,” Barnes stuttered. “I-”

Hill’s finger smoothed over his lips, quelling his words. She shushed him gently, turning the gesture into a caress of his cheek. “You’re supposed to do what feels right,” she reminded him. “Don’t force anything.”

Barnes nodded, not letting his eyes leave her face.

She kept stroking his cheek, bringing her other hand up to smooth over his hair. Barnes remembered that she liked the conditioner, and felt a hint of regret that he hadn’t used it. Maybe she would have smiled at him, then.

“Ma’am?” he said. It came out as a whisper.

“Yes, Barnes?”

Everything was all stopped up inside. Hill kept petting his hair until it was clear he couldn’t speak.

“It’s fine, Barnes. You can tell me in the morning.”

He nodded gratefully, feeling his head getting heavier under her touch.

“You need to sleep this one off, don’t you?”

Barnes thought about it. He looked at the bed where Cap was curled up under a thick blanket, serene as he slipped into sleep. It took a long minute to come to the conclusion, but Hill was still waiting when he looked up at her. Her eyes were softer than they were before.

“Yes ma’am.”

Hill nodded and reached out her hand. Barnes took it and she pulled him to his feet.

“Keep him warm, Barnes,” she ordered. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Barnes nodded and climbing into the bed behind Cap. He wrapped himself around Cap’s body as much as possible and he could feel the warmth beginning to generate between them. A minute later he felt the bed shift and Hill laid down behind him.

“We’ll talk in the morning, Barnes,” she promised. “But I want you to know. You were impressive today during the mission. And you did a good job watching out for Steve tonight.”

Barnes let the praise slide right over him. It was nothing more than an affirmation that he’d done his job, after all. But he did tighten his grip on Cap.

Hill tucked herself closer to him so that they were back to back. Barnes felt warmth begin to grow between them, as well.

“Good night, Barnes.”

“Good night, ma’am.”


End file.
